Plenty of fun in store for St. Patrick’s Day

Odds are you’re going to see lots of folks wearing green this Saturday, and for good reason: it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

In case you forgot, the annual March 17 holiday honoring the foremost patron saint of Ireland is right around the corner, so you better wash and dry every piece of green clothing that you’ve got to make the most of it. And the fact that it just so happens to fall on the weekend this year is an added bonus.

It’s common knowledge that green beer will be flowing like water throughout the city and corned beef and cabbage dinners at local eating establishments will be scooped up by people that crave the traditional Irish meal year after year. And don’t get us wrong, we plan to indulge in both on Saturday.

But we found a bunch of St. Patrick’s Day related events for all ages around the city that you can use to really enhance your “holiday” experience.

The Audi

There will be A Celtic Fiddle Party with the Hanneke Cassel Band on St. Patrick’s Day (Saturday) as part of the Concord Community Concert Association season.

Cassel, a Boston-based fiddler, will be accompanied by bandmates Mike Block, cello, and Christopher Lewis, guitar, for the concert.

The show begins at 7:30 p.m. and is a uniquely American approach to Celtic music. Consider it a “rollicking mix of the green and the tartan.” There will also be a silent auction.

Tickets are $20 and available at the UPS Store, Gibson’s Bookstore and at the door. You can also purchase them at concordcommunityconcerts.org for $23 (including fees).

Red Blazer

While “The Blazer” is well known for its Sunday morning breakfast buffet, the Manchester Street eating establishment will open its doors for a Saturday morning buffet from 8 to 11 a.m. – for a good cause.

For the last eight years, the Red Blazer has hosted a breakfast buffet to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Central N.H. All proceeds from the buffet – 100 percent – will be donated to the club, which will use the money to support scholarships for its after school program and summer camp.

Last year’s event raised close to $5,000, and with it being on a Saturday this year, the hope is to bring in even more.

The buffet, which will have everything you think of for breakfast – scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict, bacon, sausage, homemade hash, a selection of breads, a pancake and waffle station and much more – costs $13.99 for adults, $9.99 for children 6 to 12, and $4.99 for ages 3 to 5. And FYI, Red Blazer will offer some of those traditional Irish meals we mentioned later in the day.

There will also be both a silent auction, which is currently ongoing at Red Blazer, and a raffle.

The Children’s Place

On the third Saturday of the month, The Children’s Place and Parent Education Center hosts a free stay and play event for toddlers through kindergartners. It’s always themed, so of course March’s event had to be all about leprechauns.

The little ones will be able to mine for gold (unfortunately not the real stuff), go on a leprechaun scavenger hunt, enjoying some Irish music and leprechaun themed sensory activities and some great snacks. Depending on the weather, there might even be some outdoor activities.

Thanks to the Rolfe and Rumford Donor Advised Funds of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation it’s all free. But parents do need to stay. You can’t just drop off the kids and go to the aforementioned buffet.

The How to Catch a Leprechaun Stay and Play will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.

Woman’s Club of Concord

For most of the last decade, the Woman’s Club has held a St. Paddy’s Day Party right around the actual big day. But since it falls on a Saturday this year, that’s the perfect day to have a party.

Held at the home of Debbie de Peyster and Jim Morris (located in Concord), party goers will enjoy a corned beef and cabbage meal prepped by a member of the NHTI culinary program. During the dinner, you will be entertained by the Fiddler’s Circle who will play Irish folk songs.

The evening will include a live auction including some unique items like art, a quilt, an Tabriz-style design rug and a needlepoint sign.

All proceeds from the evening will benefit the Woman’s Club scholarship program, that gives out $1,000 scholarships to Merrimack Valley and Concord high school girls. Applications for the scholarship program are being accepted through April 1. Visit wccnh.com/Scholarship.html to apply.

There’s a suggested $50 donation to attend. To RSVP, email ddep@comcast.net and bring $50 to pay at the door. You may also pay online at wccnh.com.

Others

The monthly Concord Contra Dance at the East Concord Community Center just so happens to fall on St. Patrick’s Day (the third Saturday of the month). It’s highly likely that Irish tunes will be played at the contra dance, given that Irish tunes form a large part of the contra repertoire, but nothing specifically is planned for the holiday.

You can also put on all of the green athletic clothing you have in the closet and make your way down to Rollins Park on Saturday for the Frank Monahan Foundation 5K at 10 a.m.

It’s not on St. Patrick’s Day, but you can always join in the fun at the weekly Irish Dance lessons at Bow Mills Church on Wednesday evenings from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.

And don’t forget to get one of those traditional meals: corned beef and cabbage, bangers and mashed. There will be specials all over the city, so keep an eye out.